A stranger in Equestria
by Utaku Prime
Summary: The first of his kind, the last of his squad he runs for his life. He searches for safety and shelter and begs the old goddess Hecate, the Goddess of the hearth, family and moon. He is heard, but by whom?


_There was a clash of steel and claws and the lightning struck._ He ran. Crimson splashed on the ground and leaves, which was quickly washed away by the heavy rain and drunk up by the thirsty earth.

 _When claws and steel clashed, his blood sprayed, it's crimson dancing in the sterile lights like a strange, twisted rainbow._

 _When claws met flesh, it was different. The blood sprayed as if from a leaking hose, hard and in every direction it could. The pattern left on the wall was almost avant garde in its morbidity. The lightning then struck the building, the lights went out, and he ran._

 _He was free of the complex. He had tried to keep the death to a minimum… after all up until a few minutes ago, they were all his coworkers. The guards began firing at him_ , and the lightning struck. He stumbled and fell into the mud, his wound bleeding freer through his paw, now that pressure has subsided for a moment.

He bit off a yelp of pain. The cold rain cleansed his furr and kept his mind level. Only the terrorizing memories of… 'how long was it?' he wondered, kept him moving. The lightning flashed, and he continued on, running for his life.

 _His father gave him a cake. It tasted strange. He ate it in one gulp to amuse his father who seemed sad. He made a great silly show of tossing it in the air, balancing it on his long lapine nose before flipping it into his maw where he chewed it quickly. It was only then he tasted the syrup that was in it run down his throat. It was then that he saw the tears in his father's eyes. As he tried to move to his father, he only heard his father say "I'm so sorry my beloved son!" and all went dark._

The lightning struck a tree, cleaving it in twain in it's brilliance. The tree sent sparks for a dozen feet in every direction. And he ran, shaken from his blood-loss caused reverie. 'How long ago was that? an hour maybe?' he wondered again. In this lightning storm, with his wound and blood loss, time had lost all value and meaning. All that mattered was running, and dodging the lightning.

Impossible as it could be… it did seem as though the lightning was striking just as he needed it to. The clouds hiding the beautiful bright full moon when he needed cover, and light when he needed to see. 'Perhaps mother gaia, and the moon princess Hekate are hearing my pleas for help and mercy.' he thought, before shaking it off as impossible.

The lightning struck as the soldiers tried to leave the base. It hit their main transformer to the power plant just down the road. The base was in complete chaos. The commander swore, and called in all troops. They would have to search for the escapee another day. The damned furry had won this day, but he would never know.

The way began to ease up, and his running subsided. He heard a voice, a hunter checking in with base. He didn't know this hunter, in fact he sounded like a local redneck type they often employed as "dumb bait". The hunters called them "red shirts" because they tended to get killed for lack of vital information… like the furry he's hunting is a trained assassin.

He chances raising his long rabbit ears straight up. He hears both sides of the conversation. His heart's rapid beating slowly subsiding, grateful for the short respite. He hears the human on the other side of the line. 'That human at the base… he brought me doggie treats once.' He recalls. 'They tasted terrible… but the human truly meant it as a friendly gesture. I could tell he disapproved of our mistreatment… maybe the biscuits didn't taste that bad after all.' And he let the saddest of smiles form on his strange maw.

He saw a hunter looking the other direction. The moon hid behind a cloud, the rain began, he sprung forward and the lightning stuck. He ran in and spun his long vulpine leg in a sweet so fast, that less than a second after it struck the human's feet causing him to begin to fall, the furry had already spun 360 degrees, planted his strongest hand in the ground and struck straight up with both feet, slamming into the downward falling human's chin, sending him flying up and backwards, slamming into a tree with a resounding CRACK as the lightning struck again.

It was done. He checked the human's pulse… alive but he would awake… probably, with 'one hell of a headache' he thought. He took the human's medical supplies and vest… and his weapons.

The lightning struck and he ran again… but not far. He was running out of strength. This time he stopped and hid high up in a tree. He saw that no more hunters were chasing him. He saw the reflective glow of the moon on the lake that was his objective. He know that to cross that lake meant freedom… probably.

He tended his wounds, ate a ration bar, and drank water from the leaves. Then he ran.

Another hour later he was at a hidden alcove on the shore of the lake. He looked up into the sky as he began his prayer, then down into the reflection of the full moon in the pond off the shore. "O Hecate, Keeper of the hearth, the moon, and home. Please hear my plea" He began. The prayer said in ancient greek. He had heard it from many of the local animals, and from animals he'd known in greece. They said the old gods still listened. They listened twice as much from a child of man. Thrice from a helpless animal. And he was both.

"Please protect me! take me away from here! MOTHER HECATE... " He screamed as he dropped to his knees, tears streaming from his eyes, his strength gone, his bravado gone. All he had left was a child's need to be protected. "… please save me from the humans" a single drop of blood fell from his claw held over the reflection of the moon in the pond, it and only it turned brightest crimson. A moment later he knew only darkness. A moment after that only bright white.

The lightning struck… and he was gone.

When gods listen, their actions shape worlds.


End file.
